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Hello everybody and welcome to my next Transformers Third Party review. Today we'll be looking at a figure that got released earlier than expected as another company was doing a third party version of this very same figure. The community has since dubbed this the Trailbreaker wars, even though it's only two companies fighting it at the moment.

Yeah, the community can get a bit weird about it. And usually it's for the Combiners or special teams that get this type of name. Though they are including another character in this war, Hoist.

Today we'll be looking at one of those Trailbreakers, from a company that had to break their own trail after a terrible first start to becoming a beloved company. So, without further ado, may I present to you the Badcube Old Timers Squad OTS 11, Speedbump!

An interesting tale here is that this figure was meant to be released after Badcube did their Tracks and Gears figures, but as MMC was planning their own Trailbreaker, the company had to push things up considerably.

But as you can see, Speedbump comes in it's rather plain looking Badcube box, but mostly showing off the colors associated with Trailbreaker, Black and grey.

And on the back of the box you have your art shots of Speedbump in his robot and alt-modes, as well as various specs, warnings and bio in different languages. So boy, this will be fun, won't it? Let's get this guy out of the box and see how he really it.

So here we have Speedbump out of his box and man, man does he look good. Good as in "Wow, this feels so G1 '80s I feel like I've been thrown back in time" good. And any figure that can get me to do that is a good figure.

Getting up close on the grill so you can see the detail in the front. The MMC version is actually going to have blue headlights instead of the clear ones here, so you may need to keep that in mind determining which figure you want.

There's some heft to the figure, but that's due to the size of Speedbump, being one of the bigger bots. But he rolls quite well. Put him even on a slight angle and he'll start rolling.

The rear of Speedbump cleans up nicely. Hell, the only way you could tell if this was a robot is to look inside of the windows, which have a nice, blue tint to them, and the underside, showing off all the robot bits. But with that said, it's a very clean looking alt-mode.

Here's a close up on the windows showing off that blue tint. In a way, it almos tlooks like you can see seats in there and not robot bits.

Now normally I'd talk about the accessories here, but they don't really store in alt-mode here, so we'll skip that and go straight to the comparisons.

Here we have Speedbump with Badcube's Brawny, their version of Brawn. Brawny looks pretty big in comparison to Speedbump, but that'll change soon.

Next, here we have Speedbump with MP Ironhide. They appear to be the same size which puts them in scale with one another well.

For another comparison, here is Speedbump with MP Hot Rod.

For another G1 comparison, here is Speedbump with Prowl.

And lastly, here is Speedbump with Badcube's Sunsurge, their version of Sunstreaker. And man was that a fun transformation to do. That was sarcasm, by the way.

Anyway, the reason I ended on Sunsurge is that Speedbreaker actually comes with an accessory for Sunsurge. In the cartoon, as Trailbreaker was running away form an Decepticon attack force, he called in for help and got it in the form of brothers Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

In the scene, Sunstreaker reveals a cannon from his spoiler, shooting at the Decepticons.

The accessory is the cannon in question.

Getting in close you can see that it just simply plugs in, which is nice. It can only move forward or backwards and cannot turn, so keep that in mind before you accidentally break it. While I don't see myself keeping Sunsurge in alt-mode, it's nice to have if you want to recreate that iconic scene.

And no, I'm not going to show off Wardog. He's staying in robot mode forever!

Now for the best part of any Badcube review: the transformation. Badcube tends to over engineer their transformations, which is why their instructions are basically booklets, though they do provide nice detail, like why their Trailbreaker and Hoist figures won't be remolds, as they'll actually have two separate looks to them.

But typically there is one part of the transformation that's usually difficult to deal with. For Sunsurge, it's the fake chest and legs for alt-mode. For Wardog, it's those damn shoulders. And for Speedbump, it's the arms. You actually have to slide the shoulders out to actually get into the arms, which are pegged in there really tightly under the hood. And I honestly thought the legs were going to be a problem.

With that said, while Badcube goes crazy with the engineering, they still know what they're doing, and while there's a lot of pieces to move, everything has a place to be. So with a little patience, you can go from Speedbump in alt-mode...

To Speedbump in robot mode. One caveat I need to add is related to the legs. I'm pretty sure I don't have something right as he'll actually collapse on his left leg. I think I fixed it, though, but I'm not certain how. He's on a double knee system but one knee is on a ratchet while the other is on a pin.

The other issue with transformation is actually related to the instructions. When plugging the hood into the waist area, you actually need to slide the hood up (I think. There's a sliding mechanism in there somewhere), which the instructions don't really indicate. It was a pain trying to plug it in and firing out what I'm doing wrong.

But still, it was worth it because that is one impressive looking bot.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see a rather impressive looking Trailbreaker head with a well done colored visor. While we're here, let's show off another accessory of his. Speedbump comes with another face.

It's his screaming face. The switch is simple. Just pull off the face and replace it with the one you want. It locks in tight but not too tight that you can't get it off.

And as for his shoulder cannons and missiles, well, they look nice. As you can tell from the image above there's nothing on the right shoulder. That's because you can't store them in alt-mode, so they have to be plugged in. You basically got three of the same accessory, and none of htem are spares. I'll explain why in a bit.

For posing, it's your typical MP style articulation, so expect a lot of it. Despite how back heavy Speedbump is he's rather pretty stable, granted if you didn't have the same leg issue I have in that I screwed it up good.

And you're probably also thinking "What insanity is this! Trailbreaker doesn't have two hands!"

Well, it's similiar to MMC's Backdraft. You can give Speedbump two hands, if you want.

Or you can give him his iconic hand cannon. It's the same accessory that plugs into the shoulder. In this case it loks in two ways. One is a clip and the other is a peg that plugs into a hole on the wrist. It makes for a solid connection, but not too solid, because you can exchange it for another accessory.

Also, I just want to note the unique way Badcube does the hand transformation for Speedbump. Instead of a closed fist like pretty much every other MP figure, you actually need to make Speedbump's hands an open palm. It's a rather unique way of doing things.

Anyway, the second accessory.

It's his shield generator, which plugs in the same way as the hand cannons. Also, with Speedbump looking more stout I think fits the character well. It just feels like Trailbreaker to me.

Anyway, let's see how he compares to the other MP figures.

Here is Speedbump with fellow Badcube figures, Backland and Brawny. Talk about a major size difference, right?

Next, here is Speedbump with Badbue Sunsurge.

Here is Speedbump with MP Ironhide. Looks like Ironhide may be a bit taller than Speedbump, but not by much.

Here is Speedbump with Badcube's Warpath, which is so out of scale here.

And, of course, we can't finish up an MP comparison without bringing out MP 10 Optimus.

So, between the ACE review from yesterday and the Badcube review of today, if you asked me to pick only one figure, it would be Badcube's Speedbump. It's just a figure from a company that simply knows what it's doing. Which is hilarious given how terrible a start Badcube had. So much so that they actually had to rename themselves as their old name had become radioactive at that point.

It's why I hope ACE can learn from their mistakes like Badcube did with there's and come out with a stellar second figure. But still, it's nice to have a proper Trailbreaker on my shelf.

That's all the reviews I have for now, but don't fret. Sometime soon, the Titans will return. Until then.

The Kickstarter game officially went gold and will be available for purchase on December 20th. For us early backers, like Conan, we'll be getting a code that will unlock the game for us in the next week or so.

In the mean time, said backers who got the demo? We basically got access to the full game in a beta format. And those pictures? They do the game no justice.

Hello everybody and welcome to our next Transformers review. Today we will be looking at a brand new company and their brand new figure. How does it live up?

Well, honestly, I was debating which figure I wanted to review first as I have two, both third parties. I decided to stick with this and you'll see why. It is a figure that hasn't received an MP figure let so it's the first of it's kind.

So, without further ado, may I present to you the ACE 01 Immortal Series version of a G1 Cliffjumper, Tumbler!

Tumbler actually has a bit of an interesting box here. ACE released two figures at the same time, G1 versions of Cliffjumper and Hubcap, so the boxes were created with that in mind.

Here's what I mean. Here we have an image of Cliffjumper obviously infront of hte Ark, which is half the picture. Hubcap is the second half. Will I get him? Probably not, and it's less to do with me not knowing the character and more related to this figure.

Here we have a quick blurb about Tumbler, which has a nice little tidbit related to Cliffjumper's fate in Transformers Prime.

And here's the back of the box, showing off the same image as the front but with warnings instead. So, with the box out of the way, let's get him out of the box and see how he really is.

One thing I want to talk about is how the figure comes packaged. It's in a clamshell, of course, but also comes with a stand and display case. You can also see the accessories that come with Tumbler here.

And here we have Tumbler proper, the G1 version of Cliffjumper. And I have issues with this guy, honestly, though I'm wondering how much is that related to QC issues and how much is me getting a bad figure.

You may notice that Tumbler has some aspects similiar to MP Bumblebee. We'll get to that later but I can say for certainty that some of the engineering is similiar to that figure, because this and Hubcap are meant to be companion pieces for the Bee.

Getting up close to the head sculpt shows a very nice head sculpt. There are three heads in total, one that's more two accurate and one that has a different look. You actually have to remove the head via a screw on the bottom of the head peg to change the heads.

On mine? The head is incredibly loose. I think I need to tighten the screw, but if that doesn't fix it then I know it's a nasty problem with the figure.

Now, one thing that's pretty surprisingly about this figure is that it's a weighty figure. There's quite a bit of diecast here, especially in the legs. When you lift him up you will feel the weight. This is used to give the figure a lower center of gravity and make him more stable, which is a plus in my opinion.

With posing, you'll find that a lot of the posing Bumblebee has its the same here with Tumbler. One issue I need to mention here is the forearm panels. On my figure it's extremely loose, to the point where it won't stay in, even in a neutral pose. It's rather terrible, to be honest, and something that shouldn't have left the shop if this was a QC issue.

Next are the accessories. Tumbler comes with two. First is his gun, which has the unfortunate issue of being too loose in Tumbler's hands. That means it will slide out very easily if placed upside down for whatever reason.

And sadly, this isn't an issue with the hands as it is with the accessory itself.

The second accessory is the large cannon Cliffjumper has been known to use. It slides in nice and tight, meaning it won't move at all. It does have a light up feature but I don't have the batteries to test it out.

Just for fun, here is Tumbler trying to lay down to use the weapon properly. Yeah.

Okay, let's get into the comparisons, shall we?

First, here is Tumbler with Badcube's Backland and Brawny. I think the scale is there.

Next, here is Tumbler with X-Transbot's Beachcomber. FYI, I haven't even attempted to transform Beachcomber since I got him. He's staying in robot mode.

Here is Tumbler with Generation Toy's J4ZZ.

Here he is with MP 10 Optimus.

And lastly, here is Tumbler with MP Bumblebee. As you can see, the Bee is slightly smaller than the guy that was used as a remold.

Now for transformation, and where a lot of my other problems are with this figure. Because of the similarities in engineer, Tumbler transformers in a similiar fashion to Bumblebee. The problem is that you can tell that too many things were just copied without an actual reason why.

For example, Bumblebee's arms peg into the wheels, allowing them a place to lock in. Tumbler has those same peg holes but no place to peg them. So the arms kind of just hang there in alt-mode.

Also, with regards to hte feet. The doors are used as part of Bumblebee's feet, which is the Same with Tumbler. However, when you fold out the doors for Bee, they stay locked. that is not the case with Tumbler, making it difficult to put the feet in properly.

But, with a little patience, you can take Tumbler from robot mode...

To Tumbler in alt-mode. And let's get the negatives out of the way, shall we? I feel like I didn't transform this figure properly. You can see the hard lines and the figure showing off it's lines more, indicating that things aren't locked in properly.

And honestly, it feels that way. I feel like I didn't lock in everything properly.

Which is a shame, too, because this is a good looking alt-mode. I love how the figure looks here and love the use of the blue tint for the windows.

The back of Tumbler cleans up nicely, too. You can see the head somewhat through the rear window but otherwise it's a good looking alt-mode. And he rolls like a champ, too.

I wanted to get in close here on the sideview mirrors. They're made of a soft plastic, which means they won't snap as easily, but on mine, the passenger side one is drooping a bit. Clearly suffering from performance anxiety.

Sadly, unlike Bumblebee, there's no place to really store the weapons on Tumbler in alt-mode. They need to be left to the side. Now let's move on to comparisons.

Here we have Tumbler with MP Sideswipe. That's a good looking set here.

For another comparison, here is Tumbler with MP Wheeljack.

Here he is with MP Hot Rod.

For a size comparison, here is Tumbler with Combiner Wars legends Warpath.

Here he is with Fall of Cybertron Cliffjumper.

And lastly, here is Tumbler with with MP Bumblebee. They pair up pretty well, I think.

So, let's get this out of the way now. With how the figure is for me I cannot recommend this guy unless you're a big, big fan of Cliffjumper. Aside from the slew of QC related issues the issue also comes with the transformation. While it seems obvious ACE really did care about their release of Cliffjumper, they seem to miss what made the engineering on Bumblebee work as well as it did.

It is an absolute shame because you can see potential here, but there's hoping they end up pulling a Badcube and their next release hits it out of the park.

Speaking of Badcube, we're doing one of their figures tomorrow. We may have hit a Speedbump here, but I'm certain the Trailbreaker will bring us on the right path. Until then.

Hello everybody and welcome to our next exciting episode of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. The tale of a girl who forces her brother to dress up in girl clothes because he is just the prettiest princess you’ve ever seen. And nobody will disagree with that.

And hey, wouldn’t you know it? In a couple of days time, December Sixth to be more exact, will be our one year anniversary! What have I been doing with my life? I don’t have anything specific in mind as the journey has been long, but I sense that we’re approaching endgame, so we may not have many episodes left. Speaking of...

In our last episode, Estelle and Joshua attempted to meet up with Hilda, the head maid, to have an audience with Queen Alicia, who is being held against her will by the Intelligence Division. Speaking of, Colonel Richard runs into the kids and decides to spend some quality time with them. And by I mean actual quality time as Richard apparently has nothing but the absolute respect for Cassius, and therefore, he passes that same respect on to his children. Also because he knows if anything were to happen to them there is no place that would keep him safe from the wrath of the Lord God King.

After that impromptu humanizing of our big bad, the kids meet up with Hilda, who’s plan is to get the kids into the Royal Keep by dressing them up as maids. Well, originally it was going to be Estelle, but she thought Joshua would look good in it and decided to have him join the fun. So he did, because he cannot defy the will of the Lord God Princess Estelle.

With their disguises on, the kids are able to sneak passed the guards and speak with Queen Alicia, who knows full well of the coup and how it started. It’s because she selected Princess Klaudia over Duke Dunan. Well, this didn’t sit well with Richard, hence his plot to take over the kingdom. Why? Because in his mind, women are weak. And it totally has nothing to do with Queen Alicia running things and selecting the right people to help win a war. No sir, women aren’t allowed to rule!

And that’s why Princess Klaudia and a number of people have been held hostage, to keep those people in line, including Queen Alicia. With that in mind, there is only one thing left to do. Queen Alicia requests of the Bracers Guild to rescue those people, including Princess Klaudia, from the clutches of the Intelligence Division. And the counter attack starts with them. Though that means the kids have to get out of the castle. Will they succeed? Let’s find out.

Just a quick reminder of where we are. We now need to return to the maid quarters to avert suspicion. As soon as we exit the royal keep a cutscene plays. The guards, who fear Hilda, asks if she’s going home for the day? She is, but don’t cause any further discourtesy to Her Majesty or it’ll be the whipping stick for you! They feel insulted, for they are patriots to the core. But loyal to who, I wonder? They start to leave, but one of the guards stops them. Mainly, he’s looking to get their names.

So Estelle is given a choice of names:

...Was Lena the friend? I can’t remember. Schera and Dorothy would be rather well know, so I think I’ll pick Lena. The guard hesitates for a moment and says it’s a lovely name, saying that it has a pleasant ring to it.

I’m sure Estelle appreciates the compliment... and wants to get out of there. They turn to Joshua for his name and gives...

...What, I don’t get to choose for him? Though I wonder who Karin is. They compliment on the pretty name as well.

You appear to be in more ways than one. As the guards are about to give their names, Hilda puts a stop to this flirting. It offends her at how clumsily they’re doing it. When the guards deny anything of the sort she gives her own death glare, putting them back in line.

And we’re back in control. I get lost briefly before finding the proper way down stairs. There, a cutscene plays and Estelle has her own comment about the guards hitting on Joshua.

And yet, you’re such a confident young lady, though she may be talking about a different kind of confidence. That’s when the door suddenly opens and out staggers a drunk Duke Dunan.

After a moment he notices the kids as maids and finds them unfamiliar looking. Hilda gives the story about how they’re new hires.

Hey, she’s using the name Estelle gave! Well played, programmers. Hilda explains they’re inexperienced so she’s spending some extra time to train them. Phillip goes in to take a closer look, making the kids wonder if they were discovered.

Luckily, Duke Dunan comes to the rescue, telling his put upon butler to stop staring, though he remarks on how unusual it is for him to stare at a pretty face. Phillip, who may or may not be playing along, comments that Joshua looks like his niece, so his eyes were playing tricks on him. He apologizes for the discourtesy.

Sadly, Duke Dunan doesn’t. He comments on how lovely the two maids look. Especially Estelle.

Though it looks like things are going to go smoothly, right? Well...

I’m getting Final Fantasy VII flashbacks. Anybody else getting those same flashbacks? Phillip tries to put a stop to this while Estelle might have the wrong idea on what the Duke wants.

Don’t destroy the poor girl’s already fragile mind, Joshua! Luckily, Hilda is there to put a stop to that right away, citing that all of the maids work for Her Majesty, not the Duke. He tries to play it off as a joke, but then says that the castle will be his in a week’s time, anyway.

I don’t think Hilda approves of this for many, many good reasons. Phillip tries to join in to stop this from happening. He’ll allow his charge to drunk to excess, but there’s no way he would...

You don’t have to yell, you know. Anyway, the Duke is going to bed, his mood soured. They start to leave, but suddenly, the Duke stops and turns his attention back to Estelle.

This will not be good at all.

Well, she is cute, but clearly, she doesn’t like your advances at all. Phillip turns to them and apologizes for his charge and believes that the Duke won’t remember any of this in the morning, so please don’t worry about this. Hilda hopes so, and with that, Phillip takes his leave.

Afterwards, HIlda sighs, feeling bad for Phillip. This leads to Estelle asking how well she knows the put upon butler. Turns out, they’re childhood friends, though the relationship has strained thanks to the Duke. Estelle seems to believe so as Phillip seems nervous all the time. She suspects that, with the coup and all, the butler is on edge. Just a nervous time for everybody. Oh, one more thing...

Though this leads to Estelle wondering why the Duke would want Tea so late. Joshua begins to explain but Hilda decides it’d be better if she was the one who explained this.

So the head maid brings Estelle closer and whispers the truth to her.

I think it’s best we drop this subject entirely before poor Estelle’s brain collapses on her. After a fade out we return to the maid waiting room, where Estelle thanks Hilda and Shea for their help. The Head Maid says to think nothing of it, as they were performing the duties required of them to serve Her Majesty. All she asks in return is to complete the request the Queen has made of them. Shea chimes in to agree with the sentiment and to do everything in their power to save the Princess.

This prompts Estelle to ask if Shea is one of the royal retainers. Apparently she is, but regrets that she rarely gets the chance to serve the Princess directly. She’s all compliments for Princess Klaudia, who had treated her more as a friend than a servant. It bothers her that the Princess is held captive against her will.

And when Estelle makes a promise, you know that she’ll burn down buildings to make it happen. Not literally, mind you, but still, there will be no obstacle that will block her way. Not even giant, evil penguins! And with that, we’re back in control. Now let’s get out of here! Except there are two guards telling us the castle gate is sealed. You guys can walk around the rest of the castle, but nobody is leaving until morning. Guess there’s nothing left to do but return to our rooms.

As we reach the second floor of the foyer, a voice calls out to the kids.

Ah is right. It’s Captain Amalthea with two guards as escorts. The captain greets them pleasantly enough and reminds them that though they were invited, it is awfully late to be walking about. Joshua, with his silver tongue, explains that they couldn’t resist looking around as they’ve never been inside of a castle before. The captain understands, though it leads to an interesting question.

...Kids, you better make one hell of a deception roll here.

Or give me the choice. Nothing important here, so let’s think on this. What is the one place Estelle could believable go to in the middle of the night? Honestly? I think the kitchen would make the most sense. So I select that, and apparently, Amalthea claims she never saw them there when making her rounds.

Dammit, we failed the deception roll! To make it worse, Amalthea says hse’s received reports of the kids going in and out of the maid quarters several times. Why would they be looking around there? Joshua decides to step in on this.

I don’t think that worked out as well as we hoped. The captain asks her question again and demands them to answer honestly. Well, they say the best lies have a portion of the truth to them, so I would say that Estelle wanted to dress up in the pretty maid uniform, then she forced Joshua to wear a uniform, as well, because he played such a pretty princess in the play back in Ruan. That should work.

Or at least, I would have gone with that if not for the timely arrival of the Man Bear, Zane.

I’ll take a drunk Man Bear over this situation any day of the week, Estelle! But that’s when Zane notices they have company.

More specifically, Zane notices that Captain Amalthea is there.

I think that’s the first time we’ve seen Amalthea put off her guard. Zane asks if his students are causing trouble, but Amalthea gets back on her guard and explains the situation. As a security precaution and not because she’s ultra jealous that Colonel Richard likes them. But it’s okay, because even Zane, in his drunk state, knows what’s up.

So, did they? Joshua says the cooks weren’t back yet and the maid couldn’t get their hands on anything, so sorry, Master Zane. And he’s really feeling the munchies. But then, he comes up with a brilliant idea!

Right, suspicious activity and not stalking the children of the man who your man admires. The kids agree that it is late and they should get to bed, and with that, Amalthea quickly takes her leave. Zane has the perfect comment for this situation.

One day, Zane. One day. With that, the bracers return to their room, and after a fade, Zane quickly drops the drunken act. Estelle is surprised at this, since his face was red and everything, but Joshua explains that the Man Bear focused on making his blood circulate better, making him look intoxicated. Something to do with the Eastern Martial Arts. Because they’re so mystical, after all.

Zane is surprised that Joshua knows that much, and while he didn’t know the exact situation, he saw the kids were in a tight spot and wanted to help. And if it meant hitting on the pretty lady, then it’s a win for everybody, right?

But with that said, Zane would like to know the full story now. The kids try to deny that there is no story, but Zane makes it clear that he knows a lot more than he’s let on. Like they’re meeting with the Queen. Joshua asks if Elnan told him the details, but it turns out that the guild head in Grancel wouldn’t say anything. But thanks to an educated guess, Zane knows more and should be told, right?

Zane figures the jig is up and presents a letter to them. It goes as follows:

“Dear Zane Vathek,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know I’ve been out of touch. I’m in a hurry, so I hope you’ll pardon my bluntness. My work concerning the jaegers is leading me into Imperial territory. However, due to the fact that unusual forces seem to be influencing matters inside Liberl, I feel uneasy being absent for so long. This is why I must ask a favor of you. Could I persuade you to come to Liberl and help out, if they need it? Since you haven’t been to Liberl before, perhaps you could think of it as recreational trip. There is a Martial Arts Competition before the Queen’s Birthday Celebration, and foreigners can participate. It would make fine camouflage. I realize that this is sudden, but if you can do it, I would be most grateful. I’m intending to return to Liberl before the festival, so hopefully we’ll be able to have a drink together when I return.

Cassius Bright.

P.S. You may have the chance to meet my son and daughter! They’re currently apprentices at the guild, so if you happen to meet them, feel free to test the extend of their training. Try not to bail them out too much, unless it seems like they really need it.”

So, yeah, turns out Cassius asked Zane to come to Liberl. It also means that he’s currently in Erebonia, so a stone’s throw away, so to say. Zane says that’s the long and short of it.

Estelle has this weird relationship with her father. Zane, who calls Cassius “Master”, says he owed him a favor from the time he spent in Calvard. This way, he can make things square with him. This leads Joshua to asking when he figured out they were his kids? Turns out, this is Estelle’s fault, as Zane had a feeling about it after seeing her techniques with the bo staff. After he asked Kilika about it, that was all the confirmation he needed.

She still plans to make her father pay for making them worried. Zane does apologize for not saying anything, but he suspected that Cassius’ whereabouts were suppose to be kept secret. That said, if he had doubts about them being Cassius’ kids, they were gone the moment they were able to sneak in and have an audience with Queen Alicia.

As Zane has figured out this much, the kids agree on filling him in on the rest. Mainly how they snuck in and the request to rescue the princess. Zane is in without even being asked. He’ll use this as the opportunity to settle his debt with Cassius, and he won’t take no for an answer.

After a fade, we cut to... a really beaten up wall. The camera pans down to reveal the Intelligence Division soldiers with Colonel Richard and Lorence. They’re all shocked at something we’re not seeing. The camera pans around to a bridge, making us think we’re suppose to be looking at that, but obviously we’re not being shown what it is.

Richard agrees that it’s larger than he expected and asks Lorence to show them the way to the lowest level. But before they could, they’re attacked by some flying machine monsters. Richard calls them the archaisms, but the two are able to deal with the machines with ease, leading to a very accurate comment on the situation.

Yes, I would agree with that. Though Richard thinks of it as a game and says that Lorence was the quickest to react, and that he would truly be a force to reckon with when he’s not holding back. Lorence returns the compliment, noting that Richard has an impressive quick-draw technique. After some more banter, Richard affirms his believe that he must forge Liberl’s future with his own hands. He returns to his men and tells them that the way to ultimate power is open and that a new dawn approaches for Liberl! So they’re all in with that creepy way that makes it unfortunately accurate to today’s political climate.

After a fade out, we cut to the Grancel guild where Elnan is caught up on the situation. He compliments the kids on a job well done, but Estelle is concerned as to when their luck is going to end. Joshua agrees, saying they have to stay focused. Elnan is glad to see them keeping that attitude.

Boom! Eighteen BP! That was a good mission. But with that, it’s time to move on to Zane. Elnan explains that it was thanks to Lord God King Cassius that he is here, but given the mission provided to the kids, they’ll need all the help they can get, so having an A-Rank bracer around is a great thing for them. Zane is in so hard, he wouldn’t have to have a debt to make him accept.

Estelle is happy to hear this, but what’s with this whole A-Rank thing? Apparently it’s a rank that signifies a full-fledge bracer’s full power. There are seven ranks in total, starting from G and going all the way to A. No S or SS here. Estelle is impressed that Zane is such a badass, but he explains that he’s still an underling. Apparently, there are twenty A-rankers across the continent.

Oh, and there is an S-rank, but it’s an informal rank. It’s reserved for bracers who successfully resolve issues on a national scale. And there are currently only four on the entire continent.

I blame the training. Who wants to take a guess that Cassius is one of those four? And not even a second after typing that does Zane confirm it.

Estelle rolls to disbelieve.

But you should get upset all the same. Estelle can’t believe that her father was all these things, but honestly, at this point I’m just wondering if maybe you’re holding some sort of grudge? After going over the list of her father’s many accomplishments...

Zane agrees that if Cassius was with them, then this whole thing would have been settled long, long ago. But Joshua feels concerned about this. Mainly how this started with Cassius going on his trip. The timing is too perfect for this not to be part of the plan. Though he does add that he can’t think of anybody would can manipulate Cassius without him noticing it. They would have to know him very well to pull that off. Estelle agrees, because despite how close she is to him he would never know what he was up to. Zane believes that Richard wouldn’t be able to fool Cassius, either, so he believes that this was just perfect timing or that Richard heard about the trip and decided that now is as good a time as any to pull this off.

Elnan chimes in saying that, as much as it would be nice to have the Lord God King to help, they’ll have to make due with what they have on hand. With that, he’s going to call an emergency conference of the Grancel branch of the Bracer Guild. Mainly because they have a request coming directly from Her Majesty, but this goes into conflict with the third article of the bracer code. The non-interference clause. That said, they can’t ignore the request, so they must act. However, they are no mach for the Royal Army as they are. Zane, you may be awesome but you just aren’t at the level of one man army yet. Hence the need for the conference. It’s all hands on deck.

Estelle thinks this is the best course, as they’ll need all the help they can get if they have to deal with the Intelligence Division. Elnan would like to have help from the other branches, but because the plot demands it, all the checkpoints have been completely sealed off as of today under the guise of terrorist activity. Joshua calls it as it is, declaration of martial law. This means that the guild is on the clock and with what resources they have available.

Yes, so much fun. Estelle then asks if they have an idea as to where the prisoners are being held, which is something that has been on Elnan’s mind for a while. He believes the most likely place would be the Erbe Royal Villa. The building in the forest where the guards were touchy about them being too close. Joshua believes this makes the most sense. Oh, and they would never even dream of locking a member of the royal family in a cell in Leiston Fortress. Zane, however, would like to confirm the location before proceeding with the operation, because it would be a problem if they assaulted the wrong place.

Elnan agrees, but before they can act, they need to assemble the bracers currently in the city. So you kids go get them, okay? And while you’re at it, go see what information you can get, too. Like maybe a certain reporter you two have been using to get extra information. This is good timing as they should check to see if Nial got any new information as of late. And while we’re add it, the kids should enlist the help of any Guardsmen in hiding. We know of one who would be in immediately, which is good, but I bet finding the others would be a quest on it’s own. This also means a stop to the cathedral.

Elnan then gives us a list of the four other bracers in the town. Kurt, Grant, Carna and Anelace. The kids should check the bars and other usual hangouts. Also, check the hotel for them as well. When found, tell them to report back to the guild ASAP.

And with that, we’re back in control. And while this seems like a good place to stop, why don’t we keep going and get our recruiting out of the way. As we’re in the south block, let’s see if we can find our bracers here. So cafe’s and bars would be the best place to go to. Just across from us is the Sunnybell Inn. And wouldn’t you know it, Grant is right there at the bar.

A cutscene plays where Grant gives his congratulations to the kids on their win and how he’s surprise to see them back so early after spending a night in the castle. Any good food? Why, yes, there was plenty of good food we didn’t bring back because that isn’t why we’re here! The kids update Grant on the situation. No need to hide the intel now. Grant rolls to disbelieve, but is told that this is the truth. Zane stakes his reputation as the Man Bear on it.

Well, that’s enough for Grant, so he’ll help out however he can. With that he’s told to meet at the guildhouse for the strategy meeting, so get there quickly. And with that, he’s off.

Next is the equipment store. Upstairs I find Carna and activate a cutscene with her. She’s a bit surprised to see that Zane is still with them, so she’s brought in on the situation as well. She rolls to disbelieve. Though she does admit to finding it odd how the gates and ports were shut down. So why her? Well, it’s all hands on deck, so everybody is needed back at the guild. And like that, she’s off. Two down, two to go.

After rummaging around and finding nobody else in this block, I head for the hotel in the North Block since Elnan mentioned it before. Nobody on the first floor. I head up to the second floor and explore the rooms there until, suddenly, a cutscene plays!

We find Kurt in there meditating, trying to remember a little better about that job he had where he can’t remember anything. I bet that’ll be important later. The kids and Zane walk in to greet him. They explain the situation to him. Kurt... does not roll to disbelieve. Though it’s not the request he’s talking about, but the Black Orbment, trademarked, that the colonel has.

And the music stopped, which makes these few minutes of me typing this up creepy as hell. Estelle comments that Kurt is looking pale and he collapses on the floor, screaming in pain.

No, seriously, screaming in pain. Zane has the kids step away as he looks over the man, then proceeds to punch the man in the face. The great medical expertise of Zane on full display. Though apparently Zane didn’t touch him, according to Estelle.

Joshua explains it’s a special spirit-channeling breath technique, allowing the user to directly affect the target’s body without direct physical contact. Zane apologizes for being so rough, but time is not their friend. They check in on Kurt, who’s feeling a lot better after going back first into the wall. He explains that, while he doesn’t remember everything, he’s got a good bit of it coming back. He thinks he’ll be alright but hopes he never has to go through that again.

The kids ask what Kurt remembers and he explains the accident from three months ago where he lost his memories on a job. He was asked to check up on those men in black, then took something suspicious from them. It was the Black Orbment, trademarked. Turns out, Cassius gave him the assignment.

When Kurt stole the Black Orbment, trademarked, he wasted no time in packaging it up and sending it to Cassius, but that’s about as far back as he can remember. This does explain the mysterious sender. Kurt recalls part of the note, but then realizes the package was given to the kids instead. Afterwards, he was at a port when somebody called out to him, but that’s the extend of his memory. Zane suggests holding it off for now as it may cause an extra bit of strain that they can’t afford to have at the moment. they got a job to do and all.

Still, Estelle wonders who would have done such a thing? There’s a short list of people there, including the Special Ops guys. Joshua thinks as much, since they appear to be manufacturing and testing new drugs, so they could have made something to cause memory loss.

Very cheerful. Estelle also mentions the Don of the Sky Bandits and Mayor Dalmore as victims, which means they’ll have to be extra careful when dealing with the Special Ops guys from now on. Kurt apologizes for not having any more information and is all in for the mission. The three are concerned for his wellbeing but Kurt insists he’s fine. They won’t say no, so he’ll have to meet up with them at the guild for the strategy session. And with that, he’s off.

After a fade out we’re back in control. One more bracer left to get and it’s Anelace. Where would she be? Well, there is a shopping district in the East Block, so let’s check there. And there she is by the book store. While I’m there I buy the latest issue of the Liberl news, then talk to Anelace. She’s all smiles when she spots the kids, but they have something important to say.

Turns out, they’ll go to the park where so many more people can hear them. The fade out is where the team tell Anelace the story so far. And before she can roll to disbelieve, Joshua makes it clear that this is no joke and that they’re on the clock here. You in?

It is a lot to take in, what with Joshua being in a maid outfit and all. But Anelace gets her game face on and confirms that she’s suppose to go to the guild for a strategy meeting. And with that, she’s off.

Now that we have our bracers, we should go speak with Sister Julia at the Cathedral. Inside we don’t find her right away and we’re directed to speak with the Archbishop. When we go into his room and speak with him, a cutscene plays. He asks who the three are and they explain they’re members of the Bracer Guild and they’re looking for Julia, who’s going by the disguise of Sister Ellen.

Turns out, the Archbishop knows who Sister Ellen is, though Estelle misunderstands what he was trying to say. After confirming they’re here to speak with her, it turns out, she isn’t at the cathedral anymore. She left that very morning. What terrible timing. Estelle asks where she might have gone but the Archbishop doesn’t know. He’s upset as he’s always been close with the royal family, but apparently Julia refused to give him any details. Though he tells them not to worry, because before she left, Julia had the light of hope in her eyes. Looks like she knows something we don’t, but still, that’s good to know.

This still is a problem as the guild needs Julia to speak with the other Guardsmen, but Zane suggests they move on for now. They’ll just have to keep an eye out for other Royal Guardsmen during the manhunt, which is all they can do at this stage. Well, that turned out to be a bust, so lets hit newspaper to speak with Nial. It’s in the same block as the cathedral, so we don’t have to go far.

We go up to the second floor to have a cutscene play. Dorothy is speaking with the chief and is upset. Apparently they haven’t heard anything in two days. I think she’s talking about Nial. The chief tells her not to worry as Nial has a habit of getting completely wrapped up looking for the next big story, but he quickly reveals his concern, given how close they are to a state of martial law.

That’s when they notice the kids and Zane. They greet them, with the chief introducing himself as the Editor-in-Chief and how he’s been told of them already by Nial and Zane. After passing along some pleasantries, they move on to the topic of Nial, who has disappeared since yesterday. Joshua explains they spoke with him two days before, in the evening. Dorothy is shocked to hear this, but Estelle corrects the camerawoman on this.

Don’t be too hard on Dorothy, Estelle. She’s under a lot of stress. When Dorothy asks what they spoke about, we have our choices.

I think someone called him, so we’ll select that. Joshua confirms that this is what happened, so that was obviously the correct choice. That’s when Nial left. And that was the last time the kids saw him since.

I’m glad you said that before I did, Estelle. She also goes on to explain that today is when all the airliner traffic gets shut down, so maybe Nial went to another province? The chief was already on that and apparently he wasn’t in the landing port’s passenger registry and there was no sign of him. He suspects that Nial is still in town somewhere.

Zane inquires more as to what the kids and Nial were talking about. He explains that controlling the media is a big deal for the military and he gets the chief to confirm it. The Intelligence Division has been getting a little censor happy as of late. Zane then goes on to explain that it’s in a reporter’s nature to get as much information as possible into the hands of the readers, which leads Joshua to suggesting that Nial is out getting new information on a subject the Intelligence Division hasn’t started censoring yet. What was the last thing they spoke about?

Honestly, I don’t remember this one. I know it wasn’t the first one, and I know the third one was involved in some fashion, but that wouldn’t be enough to get him kidnapped, would it? At least, I’m assuming he’s been kidnapped. Number two seems like the correct choice.

After selecting it, Zane adds that the Duke mentioned something about the marriage at the dinner party. The chief knows and says it’d be quite the story if it’s true. Looks like Nial went out to get some evidence of it. Zane wonders how Nial could have known about that, since something that sensitive would be kept under wraps. Dorothy explains that he is friends with someone who works in the Erbe Royal Villa, so he could have gotten his information there.

...

That makes sense. This also means we have confirmation as to where the Princess is being held. This also suggests that Nial is at the villa as well. The chief wouldn’t be surprised if Nial tried to worm his way in for an interview with Klaudia, and if he was spotted, the soldiers would arrest him on the spot.

That’s what I want to know! Still, if Nial was arrested, it’s going to make things harder on them, which means we should include him in the list of potential hostages. The chief can smell something is up and asks what inside information the kids have, but they aren’t going to say any more on the matter. Just leave it to them to get Nial back.

And that takes care of that little situation, putting us back in control. But I think I’m going to end it here for now. The episode got longer than I think and it’s probably best to start anew in another episode.

But hey, we got some new information, didn’t we? We learned that Captain Amalthea is jealous of anybody who gets Richard’s attention. We learned that Richard and Lorence are crazy powerful and are in some underground location. We learned about Kurt’s accident and that he was responsible for getting the kids the Black Orbment, trademarked, and we learned that Nial probably got himself captured looking for a story. Fun times all around.

With the gathering of the forces complete, the guild will need to come up with the best possible strategy in getting into the villa and rescuing the hostages. Will they succeed or are they doomed to failure? We’ll have to check it out next week to find out.

Until next time, remember, when you see that your friends have been caught by a super paranoid soldier, make sure you act like a drunken fool and hit on the pretty lady in order to get them out of that situation.

Hello everybody and welcome to Day Seven of Dinoforce week, where today, it's finally time to show off the combined form one more type. Will it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

First, our team...

Here's the team in it's entirety, and they look pretty good together. Dinoichi and Dinosan are the biggest of their respective groups, but I think I can call this a team.

And here they are in robot mode, again, looking very good. While the individual bots have their flaws I think I'm happy with how they turned out. But we aren't here for that, we're here for the big thing.

So, with that said, Dinoforce! Transform and combine into Ryu-Oh!

As always, we start with the legs. You do need to remove the hands, obviously, and then put the leg bots into their leg forms. I like how they worked it out for Dinogo and Dinoroku, hiding away the limbs effectively to look like actual blocks.

Next is the torso, and probably the most difficult connection. I recommend doing the torso separate from the legs as getting the connection in is difficult. There are three different connection ports, two for the body and one for the rear. It's tough but a very tight connection.

The connection to the legs is simple, though. They slide in. I'll have more to say on this later.

And lastly, the arms. You're basically transforming Dinoni and Dinoshi into their alt-modes, but the legs for Dinoni are done differently. They also extend slightly, giving them a longer form for the arms.

They attach very easily into Dinoicihi's shoulder ports, finally bringing us the Fansproject version of Transformers Victory Dinoking, Saurus Ryu-Oh.

And... well, I have problems with it, but honestly, I like it. It's clear that this isn't FP's typical combiner designer, since he kind of jumped ship to Maketoys. Apparently this is the same guy who did the FP Dinobots, which shows in the rather simplistic, block-y design.

Getting up close to the head sculpt shows a very nice sculpt, but a key issue I have. The combined mode head doesn't actually lock in anywhere. It's on a single hinge but doesn't lock into place, meaning you can just as easily flip him back.

The only comparison I have for this is Maketoys Guardia, but his combined head locks in at several points despite floating slightly.

Let's take a look at the limbs. Here's the left arm, with Dinoshi trying to hide himself. They did a decent job of hiding the limbs here, though in my opinion actually ads a more unique design to the combined form. The hands themselves act similar to Quantron. Well, for their Blindfire figure, as they slide into specific notches into the legs. They lock in extremely well.

Here's the right arm, with the wings sticking out to cover the beast head. The forearms will look smaller than the left arm, but that's mostly due to how the beast limbs on the left arm appear compared to the right arm.

A look at the lower torso. You can see that part of Dinoichi folds done to cover a rather big space when the torso bots are combined together. This way, it doesn't look like the silhouette is broken.

Here's the right leg, and I'm going to have to mention this sooner than later. Due to how the thighs and how close they are together, Ryu-Oh will always need to be in a rather wide A-Stance. He will never really be able to stand up straight as a result, especially with how thick the legs are.

Here's the left leg. If you want, you can actually fold the beast heads down, but honestly, I like this look for Ryu-Oh. Though one nitpick I have is how the legs connect to the feet. It's on a thing plastic, and while the connection is solid, I was initially worried that it was going to cause instability with the figure.

I can say with certainty that stability is not an issue this combined mode has. it is rock solid, even if it's on a slight angle, here. The connections on the arms are tight, too, so you won't have to worry about them falling off.

The problem is with the knee connections. While the connection itself is pretty good, there's no real locking connection, so the legs will come off rather easily when held in the air too long, which can happen when fiddling with the figure.

The other issue is with the knees specifically. While there is a knee bend, it's on the leg bots themselves. And while the connection is there, due to it's looseness and no locking connection, as well as being insanely tight, getting a proper knee bend is going to be a major issue.

Hell, it's so tight that I honestly didn't think there was a knee bend at all. This is why most of combiners have a two knee system, to avoid situations like this.

Now, let's talk accessories.

Remember these guys? These are the guns that came with the difficult figures. And thanks to Feral Rex, most combiners that come out that aren't Devastator is going to have a combined version of the individual accessories together.

Ryu-Oh is no exception. Unlike Feral Rex, who provide instructions on how to combine the guns, you kind of have to figure it out here. But it is rather simple.

So behold, the combined mode gun. How well does Ryu-Oh hold it?

Pretty well, in my opinion. And the stability comes into place because, despite being like this, Ryu-Oh only leans over slightly. This guy is going to be rock solid in a lot of different poses.

Now, let's talk about one more accessory, and this came with Dinoroku.

And it is a giant axe of death-y doom! Yup, Ryu-Oh has a melee weapon. It's honestly rather cool and fits with the character well.

And both the combined gun and the melee weapon can store on the combined bot when not in use.

Which is always a nice feature. Of course, the back of the combined form is a mess because nobody can really figure out how to clean up the back of a combined form, though the Warbotron people seemed to have figured it out pretty well with their guys.

Speaking of the combined forms, let's see how Ryu-oh compares to the others.

Here we have Ryu-Oh with Fansproject's Intimidator. They're surprisingly pretty close in height, though Ryu-Oh is a bit shorter. But this is also where you can see how we basically have two different designed bots here.

Next, here is Ryu-Oh with Combiner Wars Liokasier, who is certainly shorter than the Hasbro offering.

For a size comparison, here is Ryu-Oh with Fansproject Browning II.

And lastly, here he is with fellow Victory combiner, G1 Landcross.

So, my final thoughts are this. While I personally like this figure, it does have it's own issues, but it's a solidly built and thought out combiner. Sure, it took well over a year but the designer and Fansproject knew what they were doing here.

The problem is that, as a combiner, it's kind of out of date compared to other combiners that have come out since. Guardia and Gravity Builder being two that have shown how good combiners are. Hell, Guardia is very poseable for a combiner and Gravity Builder is rock solid across the board.

So, in the end, would I recommend this set. Honestly, I would not. At least not at the price I paid as apparently TFSource and various other sites actually put the entire set on cheap a couple of times. The individual bots are pretty cool in their own right, which is a plus, and while the combined form is build solidly, I think I could have lived without him.

That said, I don't see myself selling him in the future, so don't even think about it. If you can get him for cheap, then go for it.

And that concludes Dinoforce week. Next week we'll actually have two third party figures to review, and no, they aren't part of a specific theme but they are being sold as Masterpiece lines. How will they fare? We'll have to find out then.

But once again I like to thank you guys for spending the week with me. I'm sure you had other things to do but I appreciate this all the same. Until then.

Hello everybody and welcome to our next exciting episode of Nyarko-San: Another Crawling Chaos Whiskey. And wow, did that last episode spark a conversation or what? At least everybody was keeping it civil, which is the one thing I don't think Nyarko would approve of. She would want you guys to fight for her love! Fight, I say!

So, yeah, in our last episode we continued the fake couples time with Mahiro and Kuuko in order to get Molesting McHappy Kuune to back off. She doesn't buy the relationship so the two go on a fake date to try and fake out the cousin. It goes better than you think as the two seemingly have a nice, fun little date. And this pisses off Kuune to no end. Oh, and Nyarko, despite agreeing to this, was infuriated. And an infuriated Nyarko is not one to trifle with.

During the fake date, Nyarko takes Mahiro to the side and makes it clear in no uncertain terms that this is hurting her on an emotional level. She's the one that's willing to give her heart, soul and one of her tentacles to him, not Kuuko, who isn't even interested in him. Hastur doesn't count because he's a guy and guys don't count even if Nyarko considers him a major threat. But Mahiro, ever the mean Tsundere, does not give into Nyarko's wishes and says some rather hurtful things that basically breaks her for the rest of the episode.

It isn't until later that Nyarko meets with Mahiro at night that she finally lets it all out. That Mahiro has been purposely avoiding the subject for too long and it's finally time to settle it. What does he think of her? Does he hate her? Does he not care for her? What is Nyarko to him? He avoids giving a direct answer but makes me clear that if he hated her, he would have kicked her and the others out a long time ago. Though one is sending a lot of mix messages with the silver forks of doomy death. Still, he doesn't hate her, and for now that's an answer that Nyarko can accept.

...Oh, right, this was about the thing with Kuune. Well, she passed out in Kuko's room, so they decide to resolve the issue by essentially locking her away in that meta space, never to be seen from again. A rather cruel fate, don't you think? Also, it means the the trio lost their rooms. Probably for the best, really.

-So, brief thing we need to talk about before proceeding with the episode. According to the reference guide, this episode was delayed by a week because Japan needed to air something that was vital and important of the world to see. It was, of course, the 2013 World Table Tennis Championship. There could be only one! So in response, the Nyarko website posted their own message, which you can find in the reference guide, which made a reference to the manga Ping Pong. Hey, got to get the jabs in somehow, right?

-Now to the episode proper. We start off at school. More specifically, the end of the school day. The students are heading for home as we see Nyarko calling out for Mahiro and grabbing his arm. She says that they shouldn't faintly look back on their youth like it was a dream, so lets enjoy some "aventures." I'm undecided if that's suppose to be a typo or if Nyarko intentionally said that. You can never tell with this show. Mahiro, however, is still rather shy about close contact with a girl, especially one with a thousand different forms, and tries to get her off of him. She teases him a bit more, then we get this weird imagine spot where Nyarko is looking at the horizon before turning to the camera and professing her love once more. Yeah, this show is ramping up the crazy again.

-Then, suddenly, Kuko appears! She wants her turn with Nyarko to enjoy the middle of their youth and begins to rub up against her. Didn't you have issues with Kuune doing this to you? Nyarko threatens to stab Kuko's heart with thorns, but she just waxes poetically about her love for the silver haired maiden. But still, we haven't forgotten about Kuune as Kuko wishes her a found farewell and to watch over her from the grave. Mahiro takes offense to this because no deaths have taken place between the last episode and this episode. They only trapped Kuune in the meta field, which is shown in a flashback of Nyarko doing the deed. While I would argue that you guys didn't kill her, if she doesn't find a way out you might as well have sentenced her to death. The typical Nyarko way.

-Kuko, however, is glad to be rid of Kuune, as she suggests that she's wandering the gap of the Super Dimension Fortress and that she won't return, even if she catches a whiff of lavender. Did we mix two references in here? Apparently we mixed in Macross with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. What a strange combination. During this remark Nyarko is able to break free and push Kuko away, allowing her to grab ahold of Mahiro again, telling the fiery red head to stop butting in between her and Mahiro. She brings up their conversation from the previous night, which is Nyarko wanting to keep loving Mahiro while he pets her. She implies a different kind of petting was involved but he denies that happening.

-And suddenly, Hastur appears! And he's upset that Nyarko somehow got a jump on him in the race. Kuko decides that she's going to check them out to confirm if anything the than petting took place. Mahiro does not appreciate this invasion of his privacy. Then, suddenly, Yoriko appears! So many sudden appearances this episode. Looks like she came back from a shopping trip, but more importantly, she wants her hugs! A quick cut has Yoriko hugging her son in front of the school, which he's really embarrassed because... well, we were all teenagers and acted that way at some point in our lives.

-Hey, remember that joke Yoriko made about needed sononium? Yeah, that's back as she claims her's is recharging. She's a very affectionate mother. Nyarko, who I note is calling Yoriko "Mom", asks if she needed something. Yes! Let's all go have fun together! Mainly, let's go to the pool together and have a beach episode without the beach! We're probably overdue for a fan service episode anyway.

-After the opening credits we cut to a buss leaving as our crew hits the pool building. Wow, that is a big building. Looks more like an indoor water park than a pool. They're all rather impressed, with Mahiro commenting on his mother's luck with the lotteries. Yoriko explains that she bought a lot of stuff like bait and pick axes from the peddler, so they gave her another lottery ticket. What, were you planning a deep dive into a mine to get some diamond, then fish for some underwater fishes?

-Mahiro decides to let that slide, because hey, this seems like fun, right? Despite this sudden turn of events, Nyarko is already planning on how to use this to enchant Mahiro by using her sexy commando amazing bathing suit. Her exact words. And, of course because this is the fan service episode, we have a long pan of Nyarko, in a red bikini, but losing her top in the process. Kuko is anxious to see what Nyarko will be wearing, which is that same red bikini, only our sliver-haired maiden is leaning towards the camera. You'd think Kuko's imagination would be a bit more revealing, right? As for Hastur, he's thinking of Mahiro and what he's wearing. We don't get an imagine spot of that because that would take away from the Nyarko bikini shots. But now I'm curious as to what Mahiro will be wearing in the pool.

-Speaking of, Mahiro notices the three... sorry, four. I didn't see Shanta-Kun there. Right, so he notices the four going into their imagine spots, but that's when Yoriko declares she'll go all out, too! With this group of lunatic, Mahiro decides that he'd rather go home instead. Nyarko refuses and walks him into the pool building, saying that eighty percent of a man's job is determination. I doubt his heart is filled with that at the moment, though.

-And into the park we go. We go into the men's changing room to see that Mahiro has already changed. Apparently they rent swimsuits at this place, which is probably for the best given how unexpected this was. Hastur appears and asks what he thinks of his yellow polka-dot swimsuit. The comment he gets is that apparently dull surprise. Hastur is upset and demands to hear something else, but gets a "but aren't they all the same" comment. Hastur gets infuriated with this and explains that ninety percent of a person is his looks! But then what's the other ten percent for? Mahiro points out that Hastur is a deity and such things shouldn't bother him. I know that Mahiro can come off as dense sometimes but I think he's just playing with the young boy here. Such a meanie!

-Tonight's episode is titled Color the Pool Red with Blood. Clearly an episode title that tells you that absolutely nothing terrible is going to happen here. We cut to outside of the locker room, with Hastur commenting on how big the pool is. He's got a little floaty with him, which is not yellow, surprisingly enough. That's when Yoriko apologizes for the wait and we get to see our ladies in action. Nyarko is, of course, wearing that red bikini we saw in the imagine spots. This is not the same one she wore last season. Kuko is going with the school swimsuit route because it's the fan service episode. As for Yoriko, when she said she was going all out she wasn't kidding as she's wearing a rather revealing white swimsuit to show off her body that she keeps in excellent shape thanks to her monster hunting. When Mom asks how they look, he comments on why she wants her child's opinion? Yoriko playfully calls him a meanie. Admittedly I would find this awkward, as well.

-Kuko wants an opinion, though apparently she appears with stockings for some reason. She states that she took into account the effect on youths like Mahiro and went with a wholesome bathing suit. Of course, the school swimsuit has it's own fetish so Mahiro calls her out on it, calling her a walking corruption. Even Hastur is staring at her in disbelief. Kuko's girlish side is hurt by the comment. Slightly.

-And now Nyarko wants an opinion. She pushes Kuko out of the way, does a little up close shake for the camera, then asks Mahiro how her attempt at a stylish mermaid on the beach look? Perhaps his heart is beating over her cute hips that just don't lie? Mahiro doesn't say anything except blush and turn away, which is all he needed to say to make Nyarko happy. She asks if he's totally infatuated with her, but he quickly turns on the Tsun side and demands to know what she's talking about. Quick, we need a distraction!

-Luckily, Shanta-kun appears in her own bathing suit, demanding an opinion from Mahiro. He apparently wondered where she went off to, but Hastur calls her super cute. Okay, with that little bit out of the way, it's time for some fun in the pool! And by that, I mean in the sun as we quickly cut to Kuko and Nyarko soaking up the rays. Nyarko comments having the rays come from a single spot seems rather on purpose. She then adds that she wants her skin to stay pretty and turns to Mahiro to put some sunscreen lotion on her. Even in an on the spot trip, Nyarko is prepared for any occasion. Mahiro, of course, points out the obvious. That they're indoors. That said, the roof is glass, so it may be best to have some protection. That said, Nyarko plays it off as having delicate skin, to the point that she could even get burn from indoor lighting, so he suggests she use her Full Force Form, since she can handle space travel in that, right?

-Curse, foiled again! So Nyarko tries a different approach. She tells Mahiro that this is chance! She is telling him it's okay to use the pretext of wanting to apply sunscreen to fondle her chest and butt, which she displays by folding her own chest. Point of fact, nothing is pretext with you, Nyarko. It's always plain text. So Mahiro, blushing slightly, gives Kuko the okay instead. She wastes no time in spilling lotion on her hand as she wants to mingle her flesh with Nyarko, then she begins to rub furiously against her. Apparently this turns on Kuko so much she can see through time!

-Nyarko tries to fight off Kuko, explaining that the sunscreen is evaporating as soon as the red head puts it on, but I don't think she cares at this point. As that little play is happening we hear a whistle blowing. In the foreground we see Yoriko, Mahiro and Hastur with Yoichi, who's apparently working as a lifeguard. When asked about this he only responds with whistles. Yoriko finds it admirable, but then he sees the fighting and whistles at them to... uh, stop? Keep going? Not to use the chairs as weapons? Mahiro is confused, so apparently Hastur can understand whistle. He explains that Yoichi says that sunscreen isn't allowed here. When Mahiro asks if this is what Yoichi wanted to warn them about, he whistles, which Hastur translates as "precisely". Yeah, this joke isn't going to run old at all.

-That's when we get our look at the sunscreen. It's called SAN Oil, with the tag line "Don't reduce sanity points, reduce UV rays." Because getting burned by the sun is such a taxing event. We get a long pan of the pool grounds as we see Yoriko relaxing as Hastur plays around with Shanta-Kun. But they aren't important. What's important is what Nyarko plans to do next to win Mahiro's affection. We see him walking about until Nyarko appears, calling out his name and jumping on him. She wants to go have fun, and because they are in their youth, they don't have time to get lost. She pushes him towards the lazy river, which seems like the opposite of fun, but that's because when we find them, they're on top of a floating raft, with Nyarko holding onto Mahiro's arm and leaning herself against him. Yeah, I can see why Nyarko thinks this would be fun.

-As our couple have their moment, Nyarko comments that it feels like a dream, being with Mahiro in peace. She suggests that they drift all the way to the ends of the Earth like this, but he refuses to entertain such an idea. Nyarko playfully berates him for not understanding girlish dreams, but... suddenly, an imagine spot of Nyarko leaning forward, towards the camera, proclaiming her love for Mahiro once more. Then she does it in reality, pressing even closer to Mahiro. That looks uncomfortable to me. Mahiro is feeling a embarrassed by this and tells her to stop, but nope, she will not. As she pushes Mahiro down, she forgets they're in this little floatable raft and the two immediately topple over. Well, that's one way to kill a mood. We then get a long shot of the raft floating away into another pool, letting us wonder what happened to our budding couple? No, seriously, we just follow that raft for a while. This must be the "fill as much space as we can" episode.

-After a fade out we cut to Mahiro laying down, the sun on his face as Nyarko calls out for him. He slowly opens his eyes to see a vision of beauty in front of him. She's happy to see him wake up because she was worried he wouldn't. Somehow, they have drifted onto a deserted island. You can tell because Wilson is there. Very subtle, guys. Though apparently, in English, that would be called "Nagasarete Airantou." You better hope you didn't drift onto an island that has nothing but girls. Otherwise, you might be in a bigger field of competitors than you think, Nyarko.

-As Mahiro is confused, and rightly so, Nyarko explains that it's all her fault as she was the one who suggested they drift to the end of the Earth. That said, she is happy, because despite being on a deserted island with nobody around for miles, she is with Mahiro, and for her, that is enough. For her, this is heaven, so as a result, they'll just have to become the Adam and Eve of this island. Time to start that island arc! Nyarko then goes on to list the different tropes she expects to hit during this adventure. But for now, let's cut to the moment where they need to create children. Mahiro stops her as a bunch of people walk by, stating that it isn't going to be possible.

-Turns out, the kids are in a part of the building that happens to look like a beach. Nyarko knew this and was playing it for all she could, hoping to ride the mood like a wave. That's because they're at the wave pool, after all. Suddenly (I should be running a count on this), Kuko appears! And she heard the whole speech from Nyarko, because she wants to be Adam and Eve with Nyarko! I wonder how that would work out? Nyarko doesn't want to play the game of creation with her and threatens to hurt her, but Kuko would rather love than hurt! Suddenly (so quickly, too), Hastur and Shanta-Kun appear, happy to have found Mahiro. Turns out, he's hungry. Suddenly, Yoriko appears! She points out a food court nearby, so let's go there. As Mahiro turns to to call on Nyarko and Kuko, we pan back to show them... uh... yeah. They're doing something that would be inappropriate in public, so let's quickly move on from that.

-We cut to the food court as they decide on what to eat. Hastur does the mini-miney-moe thing and picks a Takoyaki stand, which is called the Buti Cuti. And who would happen to work there but Tamao herself! We're just bringing everybody in for this episode. Mahiro is surprised to see her working here, but Tamao doesn't care about that. She's more concern about where Nyarko is. As Mahiro tries to give an answer Tamao cuts him off, thinking that he came just to see her, and then immediately berates him for leaving her beloved Nyarko alone. He asks her to calm down, which she agrees to, but she turns around and mentally berates him for not understanding a girl's feelings. I know you decided to give up on your own feelings, but something tells me that they're still fighting to be heard.

-Suddenly, Luhy appears! And unlike everybody else she isn't in a swimsuit. I imagine that'll change soon. Maybe in the eyecatch? Our first half is of Nyarko, but she's dressed in casual clothes, claiming that she is the seven percent woman. Apparently this was a line that Nyarko's voice actor said in a live event for the show, according to the reference guide. Or second half eyecatch is of Luhy and Tamao, back to back in their own swimsuits, calling out to each other and laughing. There we go.

-Now is foods time! Tamao is serving the food to the four, who comment on ow good it looks. Yoriko asks Mahiro if he plans to have any, but one look at the mascot on the banner reaffirms his concerns of not being interested. He turns to his mom and suggests not eating it, but apparently she's taking a couple of bites already. She has a bit of tentacle sticking out, though. Apparently Tamao has had some, as well, saying that they taste great, showing that she already ate hers.

-Speaking of the chef, Luhy appears asking how the food was. Everybody is all compliments, and soon, everybody has finished up. Mahiro decides to go for another swim, but before doing so, Tamao presents him with a bag filled with what I'm assuming food, and then gives him a wink. We see Luhy is busy cleaning up the table, which prompts Hastur to ask if she's going to swim? She comments that she's working, not playing. This prompts Yoriko to ask Hastur why he asked, and apparently his response is that it'd be fun if they were all together. And it looks like Luhy has a thing for Hastur as she looks at him with a blush on her face. Didn't expect that. Tamao is nearby, watching, and can apparently see what we all see. Looks like she's got another couple she's going to try and hook up together.

-We do a pan shot of the wave pool. Mahiro is there but apparently can't find Nyarko or Kuko. Though he only finds Kuko after nearly tripping over her. You suck at this spot checks, don't you? There's a message near her in the sand saying "Wanted: Mouth-to-mouth. However, only from Nyarko." Suddenly (again?), the wave comes in, washing away the message. After a moment, Mahiro wakes her up, but she complains that it isn't Nyarko. So to make it up to her, he provides Kuko with food and all is forgiven. As she munches into her food, Mahiro cleans up her mouth as she's making a bit of a mess. She comments that he doesn't have to play the fiancé when Kuune isn't looking, but he explains that wasn't what he was trying to do.

-This leads Kuko to the next possible reason. That apparently Mahiro wants to have her baby that badly. No, not it, either. That's when she leans in close, looking like she wants a kiss, but instead she wants him to wipe her mouth some more. Kuko likes this about Mahiro, so much so that, in her imagine spot, she'd die... BUSTER! Suddenly (happy tenth word use everybody), Nyarko appears, delivering a knee and sending the red head flying. Guess it wasn't an imagine spot this time. After yelling at Kuko for letting loose, she blames Mahiro, as well, for leaving her behind so coldly that her heart is going to wander. She brings up the talk from the previous night but thinks that Mahiro is already seeing a different color of twilight... wait, what?

-Mahiro, however, knows how to solve this problem. With food! After presenting his offering, all is forgiven! However, as she opens it up, turns out, it's empty. Kuko apparently swiped it while they weren't looking and finished it up. Nyarko is pissed at Kuko for getting in their way again. She's ready to settle this once and for all, because if they don't settle it, the crawling chaos will become obsolete! And then Nyarko transforms into her armored form. Kuko is all in and goes into her own battle outfit. As their two aura begin to rock the place, Mahiro tells them to stop! Why are you guys transforming here, of all places! So much for that easy day.

-Meanwhile, we see that Luhy is busy cooking more Takoyaki. She's deep in thought, though. Luckily, Tamao is there to offer a hand. Back at the other end of the pool, Nyarko demands to know how many more times she needs to hit Kuko and those turrets of hers before she gets the message? Kuko tells her that she doesn't have to tell her anything, but tell her! Mahiro tries to play peacekeeper as the pool starts heating up. Literally, thanks to the two Great Old Ones letting loose here. Mahiro laments that he doesn't have Hastur to keep these two from burning the place down. Where is he, anyway?

-Turns out, Hastur is busy elsewhere, playing with Shanta-Kun. How adorable. Suddenly, Luhy appears! And she's in a rather small pink bikini, like in the eyecatch. Hastur is very happy to see her, but probably not for the reason she thinks. Meanwhile, on Namek... I mean, the wave pool, Nyarko and Kuko are still charging up. We'll probably check back on them in a few minutes to find that nothing has changed. So let's check in on Luhy. She's explaining why she is here to join in on the fun. Because Hastur suggested it, that's why. Hastur seems a bit unsure here, but Luhy is feeling very embarrassed and says that if they're going to swim, they should hurry up and do it. Otherwise, she's going back to work. Hastur immediately agrees, prompting her to join in. After a moment we get a pan of Luhy's body, where she asks for Hastur's opinion on her swimsuit. She had trouble deciding on what to wear and gives him permission to laugh, but he refuses because she looks like a knockout. I'm surprised they didn't have a joke of her turning a few heads as she walked over to the pool area. Still, she's happy to receive that compliment.

-Meanwhile, back on Earth, Nyarko and Kuko are still charging up. Nyarko explains that she's the only protagonist here and that everybody else, especially the other deities, are just supporting roles! Even Hastur, who is currently playing around with Luhy, which we see briefly. Cutting back to the fight, Kuko explains that she hasn't accepted that supporting role, and then we get another shot of Luhy playing around. We then cut to Tamao, cooking the Takoyaki, who explains that she wants to know about the tart and sweet marmalade boy. Apparently Tamao is never happy unless she hears of somebody else's romantic pursuits. She smiles, not realizing that things are about to get hectic.

-We return to the aura showdown and see... nothing has changed. Man, they were really struggling for time in this episode, weren't they? Nyarko and Kuko continue to face off, but that's boring, so have another shot of Hastur and Luhy playing in the pool. And back to the face off, with Mahiro commenting that it's annoyingly hot in here. Honestly, I'm surprised that the roof hasn't come down yet. Speaking of the roof, apparently a thunderstorm rolled right in. Honestly, that just doesn't seem all that strange. What is strange is apparently Mahiro doesn't have his forks with him. You go into the bath naked with them, but here, at the pool, you don't take them? What is wrong with you, sir?

-But don't worry, you do have a fork! It's a plastic fork that came from Luhy's shop, but it should do the job, right? Though apparently it got anxious and bends on him. They always fail at the worst possible moment. Oh, and we lost the wave pool now. Nyarko explains to Kuko that she will not cry, but she is the crawling chaos, a deity! Kuko promises to shoot Nyarko's heart with burning friendship of murder justice! And finally, we get our fight. Or at least, the two charging at each other, Aura at their maximum.

-However, just before they collide, forks come raining from above! This forces the two to stop long enough to get struck by lightning. How did you pull that off, Mahiro? Turns out, it wasn't him. Instead, it was Yoriko, who is in her swimsuit by strapped with forks on her belt that she's now sporting, as well as a design for her shoulders. Is it weird that I find this hot?

-Yoriko gives her "in the name of the moon" speech, but that's when Yoichi appears, at the lifeguard station, whistling to her that lightning is prohibited at the pool. She apolgizes, but Mahiro calls him out on his messed up priorities. We see Nyarko and Kuko lying near death as Yoriko berates them for causing a scene at a public place, so she should correct their attitudes by pouring water on them? And by water I mean her silver forks of doom-y death. The girls point this out and quickly apologize, with Kuko blaming the sun for making her go crazy. But Yoriko isn't listening and begins to throw them all at their Goa Magara.

-After a fade we see that the sun is setting on another wonderful adventure. At the bus stop we see Nyarko and Kuko are apologizing for their actions and have clearly lost their sanity. Mahiro looks exhausted while Yoriko called the whole thing fun. Hastur did, too, and wants to come back again. He agrees, if only because at least somebody had a normal fun day in there. Though to prevent another incident like this from happening again, he tells his mother not to win any more lotteries. Which reminds her that a field has opened up called the Ruins Plains, so he should come with her. Nope, he refuses! And places a ban on his mother from any more lotteries! What a meanie! Cue credits!

-Looks like we got our Tamao credits this time around. She didn't get much of a role here except to play matchmaker with Luhy and Hastur. In our next episode preview, looks like Shanta-kun is evolving thanks to Kuko. Then it looks like Nyarko is running for an office. Then we have Mahiro talking with a young, blue haired girl who looks oddly familiar. Then some quick shots of Nyarko and Hastur looking anxious about something. Then blue haired girl appears to be serving cooked carrots. Then we have Nyarko getting ready for a fight with blue haired girl, who just looks confused. Then that same blue haired girl is sitting at a table with Mahiro, both of them drinking while little bubbles form around them. Then dramatic posing by Kuko and Nyarko! Yoriko appears to speak poetically about Earth, the rough times and sad times and a wagon the two are trying to escape in will lead them to hell. Some story, Yoriko. Though we have another voice saying that isn't what actually happens. All this and more in our next episode, A Little Love Song. Look forward to it.

So this was very clearly a filler episode where a whole lot of nothing happened. Well, that isn't exactly true. We do see what appears to be the budding romance, or at least friendship, between Hastur and Luhy. I'm sure if Nyarko caught win of this she would help hook them up if only to get rid of the competition. Still, how old is Hastur suppose to be, anyway? It just seems weird to me. But then again there isn't much to say here, so we'll just wrap it up here.

Until next time, remember, when you need to appear somewhere, make sure you appear suddenly, if only for dramatic effect.

Hello everybody and welcome to day six of Dinoforce week, where today we take a look at the last member of this team, who was the first released for this set. It's hard to imagine that it took a long time to get from this guy to Dinoroku, but that was how Fansproject did it.

I wonder if they ran into a major QC issue that delayed the set considerably? We may never know. But what we can know is about today's figure. So, without further ado, may I present to you the Fansproject Saura Ryu-Oh leader, Dinoichi!

As you can see, Dinoichi comes in a wider box for this line as he comes with additional accessories, which we'll take a look at later. He does have the flip up flap to reveal the figure, but as before, we're going to skip that.

And here's the back of the box, showing off the figure, it's alt-mode, an explosion in the background for no reason and the uncolored test prototype of the combined form. I can't believe they didn't even try to slap some color on that thing.

But that's for tomorrow. For today, let's get Dinoichi out of the box and see how he really is.

So here we have Dinoichi out of his box, and he looks beefed up compared to the other members. While they all tend to have rather fat legs, Dinoichi apparently decided to work on his chest and arms.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see it's got a nice face here. The detail is pretty good and the red is very striking. He looks evil.

Dinoichi is kind of similiar to Dinosan and the leg bots in that he's got a number of ratchets. Though apparently this guy had an issue with one of the springs in his hips, though I never had that issue. He's got good poseability, though, which is nice.

Now Dinoichi comes with a number of accessories, and he can interact with all of them. One is his rifle which can extend the barrels, if you want.

And next are the combiner components. Dinoichi, in a surprise move, actually came with all the combiner components and can interact with them, mostly as additional weapons. In this case, you can see that they're acting like a rocket launcher pack, which attaches to the shoulders.

Now for some comparisons.

Here is Dinoichi with Fansproject's Browning II.

Here he is with DX9's War in Pocket Mightron.

And here he is with Titan's Return Blurr, showing that Dinoichi is rather tall. Weird, right?

Now for transformation, and Dinoichi is a very simple transformation. Basically, not a lot actually changes between robot and alt-mode. You just need to turn the figure around, lower the shoulders and flip around the feet, then you go from Dinoichi in robot mode...

To Dinoichi in his beast mode. And he... looks like some weird standing bear with a horn of murder death!

Getting up close to the head sculpt, you cna see that it's got a nice, gold color to it and sharp, red eyes. The detail itself is rather impressive.

Now, there's some limited mobility in the head, but mostly being able to look up and down.

And yes, the mouth can open up to eat his enemies!

Now, yes, you can store the rifle on Dinoichi's alt-mode, but on the knees. Yay?

And the combiner kibble can also be used on the alt-mode.

This time, it's a bunch of guns! But it's nice to have it interact with the figure more.

Now for more comparisons!

Here is Dinoichi with MMC's Felisaber.

Next here is Dinoichi with Titan's Return Weirwolf.

Just for fun, here he is with Titanmaster Apeface.

And lastly, here he is with fellow walking monster bots, Dinoroku and Dinogo. They look good together and you can see how much taller Dinoichi is.

And that brings us to the end of the road, but we're not quite done yet. We need to find parking, after all. And tomorrow we may need to fight for that parking spot when we bring these guys together and see how the final combined form looks.

Don't forget to come back later for the next episode of Nyarko-San: Another Crawling Chaos. Until then.

Hello and welcome to day five of Dinoforce week. Today we take a look at the second to last figure of this team and inch ever closer to the big reveal on Saturday. Man, with the way I'm hyping this up it will be nothing but a disappointment, won't it?

But let's keep this hype train going and take a look at today's figure. So, without further ado, may I present to you the Fansproject Saurus Ryu-Oh figure, Dinoni!

I wonder if you guys figured out the naming theme for these guys. So here we have Dinoni in the typical Saurus box line with the flip open flap. And this time, he's in a lightning storm!

And here we have the back of the box, showing off the figure in various forms, and look, a prototype of the combined form! No, really, the legs were unpainted in this shot. I wonder why they would do that?

Well, at least this figure is painted, right? Why don't we take him out of the box and find out ourselves.

So here we have Dinoni out of his box and standing tall with his sharp wings. No, really, the wings are very sharp on here. I have no idea why they decided to make things ultra sharp, but there's a reason why they don't want anybody under fifteen playing with these guys.

Getting up close on the head sculpt you can see that it's a very yellow face with some read to break it up. What an unusual color choice. Oh, and the bird chest? It's quite big.

Like Dinoshi, not a lot of ratchets here, but despite the wings Dinoni is very well balanced. This looks like a somewhat believable running pose.

Dinoni also comes with one accessory, a very large rifle. and yes, he can hold it. Yay! Now for our comparisons.

Here is Dinoni with Titan's Return Mindwipe, showing off the winged bots.

Then we have Dinoni with Fansproject Sigma L, their version of Mindwipe.

And lastly, here is Dinoni with Titan's Return Highbrow. Dinoni actually appears to be about as tall as the deluxe figures, which seems odd given how short the others were.

But with the comparisons over, let's go to transformation. It's a bit more involved here, where you do have to fold in the legs, but you have to twist the hips to the side first, with the alt-mode legs facing down. There's also a bit of an ab crunch, but it's related to the combined form, but can be used for alt-mode, giving us...

A bird of a time. So here we have Dinoni in his alt-mode, which is some weird bird of prey creature. The wings can rotate about and with the ab crunch you can move him into various flight positions.

Getting up close to the head sculpt it's quite white, though the red and great help to break up the sculpt a bit.

And like the others, the beak can open up, but no sharp teeth this time.

And the rifle can store on the alt-mode, but not in a position to be used. Still, storage is nice.

Now for some more comparisons!

Here is Dinoni with Combiner Wars Legends class Warpath.

Here he is with Generations Megatron.

And lastly, here is Dinoni with fellow arm bot, Dinoshi.

Tune in tomorrow as we take a look at the last figure of this set. We're counting down to the end but I hope you continue to join me all the way through. Until then.

Hello everybody and welcome to Day 4 of Dinoforce week. Today we'll be taking a look at the next member of the Dinoforce team as we continue to countdown to the big reveal on Saturday.

This figure represents the lower torso of the combined form and was actually the third released figure, but you would never know that if I didn't tell you. So, without further ado may I present to you the Fansproject Saurus Ryu-Oh member, Dinosan!

Like before, Dinosan comes in the typical box for this line, only it's more action-y this time around.

And on the back of the box we see the typical product placements, but no combined form picture! Gasp! Shock! What could this mean!? Well we won't get our answers here, so let's crack this guy out of the box and see how he really is.

So here we have Dinosan out of his package, and man, look at those legs! They are thick! Though they're going ot need to be if they're going to hold the lower half of this combined bot.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see that it's a very nice looking head sculpt. No issues with the paint and that is a really sharp blue they're using for the eyes.

Like the leg bots, Dinosan has a number of ratchets in the knees and hips, but only for outward movement. There's no forward and back ratchet. No ratchet in the arms, either. The waist is heavily ratcheted, which makes sense as he'll be acting as the waist of the combined form.

Dinosan only comes with one accessory, a double barreled gun, similiar to a certain king dinosaur. He holds it quite well. I want to mention that I like the color use here. It's a nice blend of blue and white with red to help break up the pattern. It's done well.

Now for some comparisons. Here is Dinosan with Reveal the Shield Cyclonus, sporting his Hurricane upgrade.

Here is Dinosan with one of the Fansproject insecticons, showing how similiar they are in size.

And here is Dinosan with MP Bumblebee, again showing that they're the same size. I don't know how it fits with the scale but we'll assume this is right.

With regards to transformation, Dinosan is a bit complicated in the legs, requiring some folding around with the legs. They also accordion up to reveal the knee connections. But it's a good beast mode with lots of sharp spikes.

No, really, this guy is sharp, so take care when playing around with it.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see that it's a... beak like sculpt.

And like everybody else, the mouth opens, though the top half is the part that opens up, not the bottom half. And lots of nice, sharp teeth, too.

And yes, Dinosan's weapon can store on the beast mode. Yay for storage!

And now for some more comparisons!

Here is Dinosan with Fansproject Potsium.

Here he is with MP Red Alert.

And because they have some similarities, here is Dinosan with Dinoshi.

The hits keep coming and they'll come tomorrow as we near the finale. Will it be worth it? Well if you're reading this then you must be curious, but we'll see how it all goes. And as a reminder, if you have a request for the final combined form, let me know and I'll see what I can do about it. Until then.

Hello everybody and welcome to our next Transformers review. It's Day Three of Dinoforce week and it's certainly a force not to mess with. I'm glad people are enjoying these reviews. It brings up joy... joy that I shall use to power my super weapon to take over the world! Or fight aliens. Take your pick.

With that, let's get things rolling. Without further ado, may I present to you the Fansproject Saurus Ryo-Oh member, Dinoshi!

So Dinoshi was actually the last released figure before we had a massive gap between it and Dinogo and Dinoroku. Why the long gap? That's a good question, but I suspect QC issues. That and I think Fansproject has kind of given up as a whole, but that's a discussion for another time.

Here you can see Dinoshi in the typical FP box for this line, with the flip open cover.

And here you have the back of the box, showing off the figure a couple of times, it's alt-mode and the final combined mode. Also, please don't eat anything in this box, thanks. And with that out of the way let's get this guy out of the box and see how he really is.

So here we have Dinoshi out of his box and standing tall. He's a slim figure, but don't let htat fool you as this guy has some bite to him. No, really, those spikes on his shoulders are sharp and will hurt.

One thing to note with this figure is that there was an issue with one of the feet that I had to correct, but it was a rather easy fix and I didn't take any shots of it because I corrected that when I first got it nearly a year ago. Yes, it was that long ago.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see he has a very mean looking head. And while the blue paint is nice you can see that they messed it up, what with an obvious gap in the middle. Shame, really.

Unlike the leg bots, Dinoshi doesn't really have any ratchets, much to my own surprise. But you still have some rather tight joints so my own concern will be friction when the combined mode comes together.

That said, he has some good articulation to him. The wings can fold back more to provide some additional space, if needed.

Dinoshi also comes with one accessory, a gun, and unlike the legs he can hold his quite well.

With that out of the way, let's get out the comparisons.

Here we have Dinoshi with Titan's Return SDCC Brainstorm, showing that scale once more.

Here he is with TFCC Skywarp.

And here he is with Generations Rattrap, showing that if you want to be generous, the Dinoforce bots are on the small side of the Deluxe scale.

For the transformation, it is rather simple, though unlike everybody else here that uses a fold system or an accordion system, Dinoshi uses a slide system to shorten the legs. The rest itself is rather simple, taking you from Dinoshi in robot mode...

To Dinoshi in beast mode, looking like a reptile with wings. It's such a weird alt-mode, honestly.

Getting up close to the head sculpt you can see that it's a mean looking beast head with lots of nasty, sharp teeth.

And it looks like he could eat a robot bunny whole with that mouth.

And he can store his gun in the beast mode. It works best on the site because that's where the ports are. What a fun thing to deal with.

Now for our additional comparisons here.

Here we have Dinoshi with Generations Megatron.

Here he is with Combiner Wars legends Skywarp.

And lastly, here is Dinoshi with MP Hot Rod.

And with that we take a look at an arm, but don't forget about the torso section. Tune in tomorrow as we take a look at how well the combiner's lower body looks. Until then.

CaButlerFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 month ago

They have been rolling back on stuff.

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Blood_XIIIFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Badass Bitch

1 month ago

So I just started Forza Horizon 3, and it gave me a free SUV and since I'm actually online for once it popped up with suggested community decals. I picked one that looked cool and upon further inspection realized it was something you would appreciate.

+1 Cool

CaButlerFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 month ago

There be some creative people online. But they screwed up the arm placement. The hand cannon is on the wrong arm!

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Blood_XIIIFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Badass Bitch

1 month ago

@CaButler Well to be fair the decal is mirrored on the other side, so they likely put it there first and then just mirror-copied it to the right side of the car as opposed to placing the decal itself

I have been taking a lot of my anime choices recently from the image gallery you have been posting. Right now I am on Akame Ga Kill about 1/3 through it and already seen a number of characters die. I am guessing it gets worse as the series goes on huh?

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CaButlerFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold